A Little Selfish
by EchoEternal
Summary: His first day would be her last day. Even if the early morning gives her a calm image to take with her, she still can't stand the last moments alone. Her lover rests nearby…is it right to wake him?


It was early into the crisp, cool morning; two or three, she had lost track of time. The lady had managed to drift outside, but she couldn't find the strength to make it back in. She sat on the chaise lounge, her white gown dangled over her body, over the sides of the chair. Her pink hair, its curls flowing, dangling from the head of the seat, as she steadied her breathing.

Along the deck, she stared out at the stars in the sky, as they glimmered over the ocean. The waves rolled back and forth of the shore, though she couldn't quite see the ebb and flow wash across the soft, grainy sand. It was comforting, to even just picture it roll back and forth across, to hold the sight in her eyes again.

Forcing herself to return her gaze inward, she looked at the balding man in the seat nearest to her. His long, brown hair had started to slip away from the front and top of his head already, and she recalled of how it would come off in clumps. At first, she enjoyed it, watching so much hair cascade away from him; the harsh reminder of what it signaled had haunted her not long after.

Something about the two of them was always fleeting.

 _Should I be just a little selfish?_

The thought had rolled in her head several times within the past few days. It had days before with her friends, and again earlier at night when she wanted to see the view she had grown to love. Now, she had a choice, to let him continue his blissful rest, or take that from him for her own pitiful need.

 _I know it's not fair_ , she realized. But…just one more time, one more conversation between us…I would like that. And maybe he will too.

Another pause, as she breathed in and out, taking in another look at the stars. On Earth, they seemed so far away, so distant. Part of her liked that about the planet, how it gave her the distance she craved.

Sighing, she shook her head and clutched her stomach. No good. He kicked again, and time was short. Staring at the man near her, she knew that she had to talk to him again.

"Greg." No response, not at first. He was always a deep sleeper. A little louder, but still with a softness to her tone, she called his name again, "Greg."

With a grunt, the man sprang up, with his brown hair falling past his shoulders. He pushed it back behind his black t-shirt. His dark eyes immediately fixated on her, and even as he rubbed the corners of them, he lumbered right over to her side.

"Rose?" She smiled at the sound of his voice. He didn't quite sound awake yet, and it was a bit raspy, but his doting nature carried through it. "Is everything ok?"

"Everything…is perfect, Greg."

She rubbed her stomach, wincing a bit. His eyes widened, and he gazed down at the star-shaped hole in her gown. A pink quartz gem sparkled around her navel area, and he shuddered at it. Slowly, he managed to return his attention to her.

"Now?" Greg had cleared his voice up, and his concern was more prominent. "Is it time now?"

"Soon." Rose smiled, in spite of the panic that had begun to settle into her lover's face. "Isn't it so exciting?"

"Y-yeah, it's really…something."

"Don't be nervous, Greg," she assured him. "You're going to make a great father."

"Sure, but…that's not…" He shook his head, scanning around the deck of the temple for a moment. "Do you want me to go find the others?"

"No. No, I already had time with them, earlier this week." In spite of the jolts of pain, she managed to keep her smile up. "Right now, I just want it to be about us."

"But…Rose…"

"Yes, Greg?" She waited for him as he hesitated, shifting his eyes away, his mouth parted open a bit. "Greg, please. You can speak your mind with me."

"It's…I just…I'm scared."

"What are you afraid of?"

"Not having you with me."

Rose frowned a bit, but forced her smile back up. The torture that she gave him, the pain he put her through…it really was the worst.

"We've been over this, Greg," reminded Rose. "Steven and I can't exist at the same time. Gems…are so different from human beings."

"That part I understand, don't get me wrong." He tugged at the facial hair around his mouth. "It's just…I wish there were a way for us all to be together."

"But we will be," insisted Rose, and she gripped her stomach from the next kick.

"Are you ok?" She opened an eye to see Greg's, still panicked. "Rose?"

"It's fine." She smiled. "To think, after everything that I've done, after all of the times that I could have died, from all of the wars, from…so many adventures…"

"To go like this?"

"It's like a dream come true." He blinked as his head jerked back. Greg raised an eyebrow as Rose slowly opened her eyes, her genuine smile coming easy now. "After everything I've been through, the lives I've seen fade from the universe…I finally get to help with creating one."

Tears lined his eyes as she weakly laughed, pleased with that fact. He brushed his eyes to keep them drier for just a little longer, to no avail.

"I'm not sure I deserve such a great deed, if it should be me giving this Earth such a gift," admitted Rose. "After all I've done—"

"Rose, Rose, don't say that." Greg lifted her hand into his, and held it between them. "You've given so much and done great things for the Earth."

"And yet I've done terrible things too," persisted Rose. "There's so much that I've told you, but so much that I never got to go over. There's so much I wish I had told the others, and so many decisions that I've made that I…I've left so much for him to deal with." A tear drifted from her eye, more noticeable than the several that poured away from Greg's face. "I told myself that I wouldn't think about it, but…w-what if my past does catch up with him?" She shuddered as she gripped her gut once more. "I've…I've been selfish. I've left him…so much weight."

"Hey, come on. We'll be right there with him. And so will the others," reassured Greg, managing to hold his tone through his tears and quaking. "Besides, if every pork chop were perfect, we wouldn't have hot dogs. And I love hot dogs."

For a moment, they stared into one another's eyes. Then, she laughed, and even as his heart sank, he couldn't help but smile.

"Hot dogs are wonderful," she agreed. "There are so many things on this Earth that are, too." Rose giggled again. "I can't wait for him to experience everything for the first time. He's going to love it so much."

"I'm sure he will, Rose."

He kissed her and brushed some strands of hair away from the bangs over her eyes. They squeezed one another's hands tightly, as he kicked again, and her gem's light brightened.

"Almost," she managed past a gasp. "It's…almost time."

"Rose…!"

"Don't be…afraid, Greg." She smiled. "He'll be…so happy…with you." Then she coughed. "Just—" Rose gasped. "Just like me." She coughed again, but still smiled. "Thank you, Greg…thank you…for giving me…this."

Greg shuddered and sobbed, but forced himself to nod and watch her. Rose grinned to him once more, and her gem's light became too bright, forcing Greg to back away.

Another light flashed behind them, as Greg stepped back. The others came running over, unable to get closer to Greg or Rose, but enough for her to see her friends again, once more.

"Everyone…thank you all…so much."

Another tear slipped away as Rose's body was enveloped in a bright pink, rose-shaped light. Her friends watched as the light brightened the world around them, and forced them to shield their eyes. She smiled to them, and took in the view she loved so much.

Slowly, the light dissipated. Greg was the first to lower his arms away, and then each of the other Gems lowered theirs away as well. They stared at the small baby that lay where his mother had rested.

For just a few seconds, apart from the hushed tides that washed over the beach, the universe was silent.

And then the baby cried, with his wails filling the night sky.

Carefully, Greg made his way back over to the baby, lifting and wrapping a blanket around him. He slowly rocked the infant in his arms.

"It's ok, I gotcha."

He stared over the baby's rose quartz gem, and looked right into his eyes as they peered just a little bit through the tears, taking in the morning sky and his father for the first time.

"Hey there, kiddo," greeted Greg as the tears spilled from both of their eyes. "Hey there, Steven."

* * *

...

Author's Note: Here's a quick attempt at a Steven Universe fanfic piece. I've never read or written anything for the series before, and I still can't quite think of a story for it, but I wanted to try this out.

It's a loving and sad piece, and I think something that the show may or may not get to explore, but I wanted to. Steven's birth is probably more eventful, and I'm still trying to capture the characters' personalities, but I figured this would be a fun one-shot.

It's also nice to focus on just Greg and Rose; I wasn't even sure I wanted to include the other Gems, but I figured they had to be there for Steven's birth. They all cried, too, because of course.

Anyway, that's it. Feedback would be super appreciated, via reviews or messages. Thanks for reading!


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